


His First Time

by Ellislash (MintSharpie)



Category: Left 4 Dead 2
Genre: After!verse, Cute, Drabble, Fluff, M/M, Nellis
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-04
Updated: 2015-07-04
Packaged: 2018-04-07 15:48:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,719
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4269123
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MintSharpie/pseuds/Ellislash
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nick gets Ellis to try something new.</p>
            </blockquote>





	His First Time

**Author's Note:**

> Original publish date November 2011.

"I promise, you'll like it."

"Nuh-uh, no way. I ain't eatin' it. Not after Keith."

"That idiot did it about as wrong as you can get. Just one bite of the real stuff won't hurt you, and if you don't like it then you don't have to get any more. Two," Nick told the waitress before continuing to coax his boyfriend past the 'eew' stage. "That's why we're not someplace fancy. I can't take you anywhere."

"This don't count as fancy?" Ellis grumbled, looking around. The restaurant had bamboo in black ceramic pots, tiny little teacups at every place setting, and paper lanterns hanging from the ceiling. Add the gentle Japanese music and actual waiters, with menus and everything, and Ellis was already way out of his depth.

They were led to a table by a window, and sat. Before their attendant could give them menus, Nick raised his hand slightly.

"One teriyaki steak, rare, and one all-you-can-eat. Two beers."

The waitress looked a bit surprised, but recovered smoothly. "Would you like tea or water as well?" she asked, scribbling down the order.

"No thanks."

Ellis watched apprehensively as the teacups were removed. Nick reached over to the soy sauce and selected a piece of paper, like a checklist, from a small pile of what Ellis had thought were napkins. There were two pens as well, and Nick took one.

"All right, look. You mark how many you want next to the listing. We're gonna start slow. I'm getting you one shrimp and one crab, okay? They aren't raw." He showed the order to Ellis, who was looking worried.

"Okay... Hey, why are there two boxes? What's... sash... um, what's that mean?"

" _Sashimi_ ," Nick pronounced carefully. "It doesn't come with rice. What you think of as sushi is fish on top of a little thing... you'll see." When the waitress returned with their drinks, he handed the list over.

"Junior's first time. Go easy on the wasabi."

She smiled at Ellis, dark eyes twinkling. "Oh, you're gonna love it. Ask if you need help with translation, okay?"

Both men watched her walk to the sushi bar, Ellis curiously and Nick appraisingly - a little window shopping never hurt anyone. The chef smiled when their waitress told him what was up, and waved a little at them. Ellis looked away, embarrassed, and watched the other diners instead. Nick acknowledged the chef with the barest tilt of his head, and scanned the crowd out of habit. He caught himself planning a move on a promising-looking mark, and snapped his gaze back to his lover instead. The deal was that he wouldn't pull that kind of shit anymore.

Ellis was the only person on earth who could make him give up crime, and he had. Nick's prior history made it hard to find honest work, so he'd created some. Reflection Corporate Security Consulting was doing quite well for a start-up, and if his latest deal went through he'd need to hire some lackeys. He smiled in anticipation of that night, knowing he'd be getting thorough congratulations from his excitable lover.

"Why're ya givin' me that look?" Ellis interrupted his lascivious thoughts. "Ain't appropriate in public, you'll scare the kids." Despite his words, his smile was just as sexy.

"Hypocrite. Heads up," Nick replied as their waitress approached. She put a white plate in the shape of a leaf down in front of Ellis, accompanied by the little soy dish.

"Your steak is almost ready," she told Nick, and tended to other customers.

"Have you ever used chopsticks before?" he asked his boyfriend.

"Yeah, we used ta get Chinese take-out a lot," the mechanic replied. He raised the joined bamboo sticks in front of him and carefully pulled both sides outwards from the bottom. There was a  _snap_ , and he smiled. "Perfect. Okay, this stuff ain't raw, I can deal with it." He picked up the shrimp sushi much more delicately than Nick thought he could. "All at once?"

"Not with the tail on, lunkhead."

"Duh, I mean more in gen'ral. 'Less all the fish still got tails on," he replied suspiciously. Nick rolled his eyes.

"Just pinch it off and eat it already."

Ellis removed the shrimp's tail and popped the rest into his mouth.

"'S jus' shrimp n' rice," he said when he'd swallowed.

"Remember, we're starting easy. Eat your crab."

The other piece of sushi disappeared quickly. Nick reached for another ordering sheet just as their waitress approached again, bearing his steak. He gladly accepted a fork and knife, and surveyed the meat and vegetables with pleasure before making the first incision.

"Ellis, give her another list. Mark one salmon and one tuna." He took a bite of sweet beef - just the way he liked it, brown on top and still bloody inside. "Mmmmm."

"Aw, man, it smells so good," Ellis remarked enviously, placing the order. "Do they make sushi outta that?"

The waitress giggled. "Maybe just for you," she said slyly, and gave him a wink as she left. Both men stared after her again, this time in disbelief.

"Uh. Okay. I guess I ain't allowed ta get her number?" Ellis asked, half-joking. Nick was tempted to throw asparagus at him.

"Only if she's up for a threesome," he muttered jealously over his beer.

When the second plate came for Ellis, it had three items on it: one pink, one dark red, and one toasty-brown. Their flirty waitress smiled like she had a secret.

"Special delivery."

Ellis grinned widely. "Hey, thanks a lot!" She winked again, and went back to work.

Nick sorted his thoughts into three categories: jealousy against anyone coming close to his boyfriend; libidinous intrigue at the possibility of something new in bed; and amused anticipation for seeing Ellis try raw fish for the first time. He closed out the first two and put down his fork to focus on the suddenly apprehensive young man across the table.

"Go on, have the steak first, then we'll do this thing." Nick peaked his fingers before him and watched.

Ellis downed the cooked meat with much pleasure. "Y'r righ', 'sgud!" he tried to say with his mouth full. He then took a sip of beer, and stared down at his sushi like he was expecting a gunfight to break out. The chopsticks in his hand did not move.

"I dare you."

He looked up into Nick's gleaming green eyes. "Oh really."

"Yeah, really. I challenge you to eat those. Or you've got dishes for a week."

Ellis narrowed his eyes, and Nick had to work to keep from grinning. He was so damn cute when he tried to be serious!

"Challenge accepted - with a condition," the young man declared. "If I do this, an' I like it, yer not allowed ta say told-ya-so."

"Deal."

Ellis delicately lifted the darker fish. "This'n's the tuna, right?" Nick nodded. His boyfriend inspected it, sniffed it, and put it in his mouth. His left eyebrow raised in increments, from suspicious glare to unexpected interest to actual surprise. Nick noted happily that no spit-take was going on.

"So." Nick took a sip of beer when Ellis was done. "What's the verdict?"

"It ain't bad!" the mechanic replied with a smile. "Ain't got much flavor, but it don't  _taste_  like fish, y'know? Lessee what this'n's like." He picked up the salmon and ate it, brow furrowed as he concentrated on analyzing the experience. "Kinda slimy, but inna good way. An' it's got more taste than the other one."

Nick couldn't keep from smiling at him. "If you use that green stuff, it's called wasabi, it'll spice it up," he said. "It can go between the fish and the rice, or in the soy sauce and you dip it. Want some more?"

Ellis nodded vigorously and reached for the order sheet himself.

He liked tuna, salmon, eel, roe, yellowtail, and shrimp, but decided that mackerel, skate, sea urchin, and octopus were "gross." When Nick graduated him from nigiri to maki he took off; the combinations of flavors and textures clearly hit a sweet spot. As his empty steak plate was cleared away, Nick remembered that Ellis had grown up in the land of McDonald's and KFC. Everything that Nick showed him was a revelation of some kind or other. Sushi revealed itself to be right up his alley, and he'd tried one of everything on the menu by the time Nick finished his dessert.

"Are you full yet, buddy?" he asked as the last piece of 'samurai roll' disappeared. Ellis closed his eyes happily as he savored it, then smiled blissfully at his lover.

"I could keep goin' 'til I explode, but I don't think ya'd be happy with that. We can go home now."

Nick leaned over the table to take his hand, and kissed it. "Can you guess what I'm not saying?" He dodged Ellis' lazy swipe at his ear. "I'm glad you liked it. We'll come back some time."

Their waitress glided back over with the check. Nick barely glanced at it before handing over his credit card. He was too busy drinking in the sight of his boyfriend's beautiful face, beaming with satisfaction and contentment. He signed for the bill and left a very generous tip; more than he meant to, but he was in an excellent mood.

They held hands back to the Lexus. Nick reached for his keys and was surprised to notice the customer's receipt in his pocket, too - he must have stuck it there without realizing it. Now, pulling it out, he saw blue pen scrawls on the back that didn't look like they belonged on a restaurant bill. He looked closer.

"Well, I'll be damned. 'Alex. Call me, cuties!' and a phone number," he read off. "'Cuties,' plural. Looks like you got your wish," he quipped, and elbowed his lover in the ribs.

"Watch where yer jabbin', Nick, I think I ate half the Pacific back there," Ellis groaned, loosening his belt. "I ain't gonna think 'bout no threesome 'til tomorrow." Nick grinned as they split for opposite sides of the car. He slid into the driver's seat and leaned over the gearshift to grab Ellis by the shirt, pulling him close to gently nibble at his ear.

"Good, 'cause I want you all to myself tonight."


End file.
